South Korea's 5G penetration rate exceeds 20%, and 2G networks are about to be completely shut down

South Korea's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology said on Tuesday it has approved LG Uplus Corp's plan to phase out its 2G services by the end of June, marking the complete end of the country's legacy telecom network.

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LG Uplus said it will help existing 2G users, which had 140,000 2G subscribers as of May, switch to LTE or 5G services by providing subsidies for mobile devices and their subscription plans.

On April 3, 2019, South Korea's three major operators announced the launch of 5G, making South Korea the first country in the world to commercialize 5G, several hours earlier than the United States.

According to data from South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, as of the end of March, South Korea's 5G users reached 14.48 million, accounting for 20% of the country's 71.1 million mobile users.

In July last year, South Korea's largest wireless provider SK Telecom applied to shut down its 2G network, and the second largest operator KT Telecom shut down its 2G network as early as 2012.